PR+P Week 1: Pokemon Inspired

September 13, 2016

Welcome everyone coming here from Project Run + Play! I am SO FREAKING EXCITED to share what I’ve made for this super fun sewing showdown. I am terrible at waiting to share things and I’ve had this outfit sewn up for well over a week now. It’s been killer to keep it under wraps.

Are you stopping here before heading to the PR+P site? Before you read any more, head HERE to place your vote for your favorite Pokemon look! Go ahead, I’ll wait. 😉

When the Pokemon theme was announced I was stoked. Bennett and Louis have been Pokemon fans forever now, and of course the Pokemon Go! game has just thrown them further into that world. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve seen Pokemon XY on Netflix at this point. I still don’t “get it” but I can appreciate that they love it and that’s all I need.

SO MUCH of me wanted to make Ash Ketchum’s entire outfit. But then I realized that maybe cosplay wasn’t the ticket here. So I went back to the drawing board (or the stickynote on my desk) and sketched up this outfit. So glad I changed my mind. These pieces are way more usable in everyday life and can be easily mix-matched with other clothes of his.

I basically turned Louis into a walking, talking Pokeball. And I love it. The shirt is the Patterns for Pirates YoHo Henley, that i just colorblocked, and then appliqued some circles and stripes onto.

I still wanted to infuse some of Ash’s style. So I used the Street Kred 2.0 hat from Apple + Fig and made Ash’s hat. Louis only wanted to wear it a) backwards like Ash does when he’s battling or b) not at all. Suffice to say, it didn’t last very long for photos. But it did end up being a cute prop…so it worked out in the long run, yes??

A million times over, my favorite piece is Lou’s pants. I took the P4P Playground Pants and did some hefty modifications to make them into big-pocketed joggers. Louis isn’t a kiddo that likes to wear anything besides jeans and khakis (so fancy!) but he’s more and more been requesting some “comfy pants” to wear around the house. Done and done. I kind of want these exact pants for myself.

I can’t take full credit for the pocket idea. I made Louis some shorts from Rabbit Rabbit Creations last summer that involved these GIANT pockets and I desperately needed to put them in something again. The problem was that I couldn’t find my pattern, so I just drafted my own into the side of the Playground Pants. And I think it worked well! I love that the lining is some licensed woven fabric from JoAnns. It’s that extra little element of Pokemon that makes these joggers even more special.

In addition to the extra large and in charge pockets, I added a tie to the waistband, slimmed the legs and added cuffs for that ever popular “jogger style” that we see so often, AND added the word “Trainer” down one leg, along with the symbol for Louis’ team. Louis is a blue addicted kiddo. The color blue has and always will be his favorite and that often makes decisions for him. So when the three teams were available to join on Pokemon Go!, there was zero amount of thought before Louis decided to join Team Mystic (even though his Daddy is on an opposing team). Hello? Their color is blue. What more do you need to know?

While we were at the beach for our McKinley family vacation in August, we picked up this Pikachu stuffie. He ended up being an excellent addition for context for our photoshoot. We couldn’t quite get him to balance naturally on Louis’ shoulder like he does Ash’s, so we had to improvise.

Louis has been into improvising for our photos lately. So facial expressions and poses are getting a little wild. But that’s part of the fun, right? He INSISTED in throwing his hat and Pikachu while he jumped in the air and tried to catch them. Well…he never caught them. Not even close. But it was cute watching him try.

Your biggest critic can sometimes be your own child. But I’m lucky to have a very excitable, supportive kiddo. Louis almost always loves what I make for him, and a lot of times doesn’t want to take it off after photos are done. No matter where I land in this contest, I’m just happy with knowing that Louis loves his new duds. His appreciation for what I make always kinda makes my heart melt into a gooey puddle.

**As always, you’ll find some affiliate links scattered within my post, which means I receive a small amount of compensation if you end up purchasing something I’ve recommended. Thanks for helping to feed my sewing habits!